Marc Kielburger

Marc Kielburger, CM, OMC (born 1977) is a Canadian author, social entrepreneur, columnist, humanitarian and activist for children's rights. He is the co-founder, with his brother Craig, of the We Movement, which consists of We Charity, an international development and youth empowerment organization; Me to We, a social enterprise; and We Day, an annual youth empowerment event. In 2010, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada by the Governor General of Canada.[1]

Marc Kielburger

CM, OMC
Kielburger in 2008
Born
Marc Kielburger

1977 (age 42–43)
Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
OccupationSocial entrepreneur, author, columnist, humanitarian
Known forCo Founder of WE Charity and Me to We
Notable work
Me To WE
Spouse(s)Roxanne Joyal
Children2
RelativesCraig Kielburger (brother)
AwardsOntario Medal for Good Citizenship (1998)
Order of Canada (2010)
Websitewww.marckielburger.com

Early years and education

Kielburger was born in 1977 to parents who were both schoolteachers,[2] Fred and Theresa Kielburger.[3][4]

He attended Brebeuf College School (Toronto), and Neuchâtel Junior College (Neuchâtel, Switzerland), which he graduated from in 1995.[5][6][7] In 1990, at 13, through a program for school credit organized by Fintan Kilbride, Kielburger volunteered in Jamaica at a hospice for teenage mothers and a home for elderly homeless people who suffered from leprosy.[8] During the same year he launched a one-person campaign against the production and use of chemically based home cleaners and received the YTV Achievement Award.[9] He also won two awards at Canada-Wide Science Fair, in 1990 and in 1992.[10]

Kielburger was the youngest to received the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship for his efforts.[11]

He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, completing a degree in International Relations. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 2000[12][13] and completed a law degree at Oxford University, with an emphasis on human rights law.[14]

Activism and social entrepreneurship

While Marc Kielburger was studying at Harvard, his younger brother Craig read a story in the newspaper about the murder of a former child labourer in Pakistan.[15] The story inspired Craig to urge world leaders to oppose the practice of child labour.[15] In 1995, Craig and Marc co-founded Free the Children (later renamed We Charity).[16] Marc's work with Free the Children has included co-creating Me to We, a social enterprise organization that supports We Charity with half its' profits, and We Day, an annual youth empowerment event held in large stadiums in cities across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Kielburger later co-founded Leaders Today, an organization that trains young people to develop skills and confidence to effect social change.[17]

In 2008, the Kielburgers appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show where they launched a partnership with Oprah's Angel Network.[18]

Kielburger's work has been recognized through an Ashoka fellowship.[19] He was also named Most Admired CEO in Canada in the Public Sector 2015.[20]

Kielburger is a member of the board of directors of Prince's Trust Canada and Freshii. [21]. Kielburger also contributes a column to The Globe and Mail.[22]

Controversy and criticism

In June 2020, the Canadian government announced it had chosen We Charity to run its new Canada Student Service Grant program.[23] The selection of We Charity led to accusations of favouritism, since the government would be outsourcing a massive federal aid program to a private organisation with ties to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family.[24] In July 2020, Marc Kielburger and fellow We Charity co-founder Craig Kielburger announced they were pulling out the grant contract due to the controversy it created.[25]

On 30 June 2020, the Canadian Press published video of Marc Kielburger telling youth leaders earlier in the month that Trudeau's office had contacted We Charity to see if the organization would administer the student aid program. The Prime Minister’s Office said that Kierlburger’s statement was not true. Marc Kielburger later said he "misspoke" and “incorrectly referred to the Prime Minister’s Office.”[26][27] Kielbuger said the outreach came instead from officials at Employment and Social Development Canada.[26]

In June 2020, Amanda Maitland, a former We Charity employee, said a speech she had written for a We Charity event about her experiences as a black woman was edited without her approval by a group of mostly white staff members.[28] Maitland said when she tried a to speak up a staff meeting about problems within the organization, Marc Kielburger "aggressively" shut her down.[28] In July 2020, Marc and Craig Kielburger apologized "unreservedly" to Maitland on their personal Instagram accounts.[28] The Kielburgers said the editing of Maitland's speech "simply should not have happened."[28] They said that they stand “firmly for inclusion, diversity and the equitable, open treatment of all."[28]

Personal life

Kielburger is married to Roxanne Joyal.[29] She is a Rhodes Scholar [30] and a fellow Member of the Order of Canada.[31][32] They have two daughters.[33]

Honours

Commonwealth honours
Country Date Appointment Post-nominal letters
 Canada1998 – PresentOntario Medal for Good CitizenshipOMC
 Canada2010 – PresentMember of the Order of CanadaCM

Scholastic
Honorary degrees
Location Date School Degree Status
 Ontario9 June 2005Nipissing UniversityDoctor of Education (D.Ed) [34] [35]
 OntarioJune 2007University of GuelphDoctor of Laws (LL.D) [36]
 Ontario8 June 2011University of TorontoDoctor of Laws (LL.D) [37]
 Ontario14 June 2011University of Western OntarioDoctor of Laws (LL.D) [38]
 OntarioJune 2011Wilfrid Laurier UniversityDoctor of Letters (D.Litt) [39]
 Ontario2012Carleton UniversityDoctor of Laws (LL.D) [40]
 British Columbia31 May 2012Kwantlen Polytechnic UniversityDoctor of Laws (LL.D) [41]
 QuebecJune 2012Concordia UniversityDoctor of Laws (LL.D) [42]
 British Columbia2014Capilano UniversityDoctorate [43]
 Ontario2018University of Ontario Institute of TechnologyDoctor of Laws (LL.D) [44]
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Publications
  • Kielburger, Craig; Kielburger, Marc (2002). Take Action! A Guide to Active Citizenship. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780471271321. OCLC 51566318.
  • Kielburger, Marc (2004). Take More Action. Thomson Nelson. ISBN 978-0771580352.
  • Kielburger, Craig; Kielburger, Marc (2004). Me To We: Turning Self-Help on Its Head. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470835104. OCLC 55510177.
  • Kielburger, Craig; Kielburger, Marc (2006). Me To We: Finding Meaning In A Material World. Fireside. ISBN 9780743294515. OCLC 71126899.
  • Singh, Lekha; Kielburger, Marc (2007). The making of an activist. Friesens Corporation. ISBN 9781553831310. OCLC 319758042.
  • Kielburger, Craig; Kielburger, Marc; Page, Shelley (2009). The World Needs Your Kid: Raising Children Who Care and Contribute. Me to We. ISBN 978-1553655053.
  • Kielburger, Craig; Kielburger, Marc (2010). Global Voices. Greystone Books. ISBN 978-1553658016.
  • Kielburger, Craig; Kielburger, Marc; Trethewey, Laura (2011). Living Me to We: The Guide for Socially Conscious Canadians. We to Me. ISBN 9780978437565. OCLC 809232934.
  • Kielburger, Craig; Kielburger, Marc (2012). My Grandma Follows Me on Twitter: And Other First-World Problems We're Lucky to Have. Me to We. ISBN 9781927435021. OCLC 810526157.
  • Kielburger, Craig; Kielburger, Marc (2013). The Power of We Day: Moving the World from Me to We. Me to We. ISBN 978-1927435113.
  • Kielburger, Marc; Antonello, Marisa; Laidley, Victoria (2016). Everyone's Birthday: A Kid's Adventure in Thailand. Me to We. ISBN 978-0978437572.
  • Kielburger, Craig; Branson, Holly; Kielburger, Marc (2018). WEconomy: You Can Find Meaning, Make A Living, and Change the World. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-44781-8.

Further reading
  • Coleman, Linda S.; Funk, Robert W. (2005). "Take Action: Children's Rights Are Human Rights: Marc Kielburger and Craig Keilburger". Professional and Public Writing: A Rhetoric and Reader for Advanced Composition. Pearson Education. p. 158. ISBN 9780131838857.
  • "Young People Changing the World: An Interview with Marc Kielburger". A Human Future. L'Arche Canada. 6 (March 2007). 2007.
  • Asabere-Ameyaw, Akwasi; Anamuah-Mensah, Jophus; Sefa Dei, George; Raheem, Kolawole, eds. (2014). "Me to We". Indigenist African Development and Related Issues: Towards a Transdisciplinary Perspective. Sense Publishers. p. 48. ISBN 978-94-6209-657-8 – via Google Books.
  • Dutton, Jane E.; Spreitzer, Gretchen M. (2014). "Cultivate Hope". How to Be a Positive Leader: Small Actions, Big Impact. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-62656-028-4.
  • Scudamore, Brian (October 18, 2017). "WE Co-Founder Marc Kielburger On Mentors, Mandela, And Spurring Social Change At 17". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2019.

References
  1. "Governor General Announces New Appointments to the Order of Canada". web.archive.org. 2019-01-20. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  2. Spiering, Brenda. "Two teachers who helped their kids start a movement". Canadian Living. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  3. Langlois, Chistine. "The accidental activists: Craig and Marc Kielburger". Canadian Living. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  4. "The Kielburger crusade". web.archive.org. 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  5. Ash, Peter. "Brebeuf has been making men out of boys for 50 years". www.catholicregister.org. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  6. "Schools benefit when charity becomes part of the curriculum". Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  7. "Leadership". www.njc.ch. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  8. Buchan, Heather (2009-11-26). "Thornhill's Person of the Year: Marc Kielburger". trnto.com. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  9. "Green cleaners: How to make your cleaning kit eco-friendly". Canadian Living. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  10. "CWSF Alumna Stephanie Gaglione – Rhodes Scholar". youthscience.ca. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  11. "A one-man mission turned global crusade". The National. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  12. "Rhodes Scholars". Loran Scholars Foundation - Fondation Boursiers Loran. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  13. "University of Toronto students snag three Rhodes Scholars spots". thestar.com. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  14. "Marc Kielburger, CM, OMC". One Young World. 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  15. "Marc and Craig Kielburger's do-gooding social enterprise". Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  16. "Stars shine at We Day, inspire students to change the world". The Seattle Times. 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  17. "Marc Kielburger and Leaders Today". charityvillage.com. 28 August 2006. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  18. Warner, Tyrone (2008-05-27). "Kielburgers join forces with Oprah on new campaign". CTVNews. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  19. "PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  20. "The World Needs More Canada".
  21. Erlichman, Jon (2019-04-04). "Freshii's top shareholder backs founder amid stock slide - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  22. "Marc Kielburger". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  23. "We Charity cuts ties with Canada grant programme". BBC News. 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  24. "We Charity cuts ties with Canada grant programme". BBC News. 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  25. "We Charity cuts ties with Canada grant programme". BBC News. 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  26. "WE Charity co-founder said PMO 'called' to award $900M student-grant program, contradicting Trudeau". National Post. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  27. "Marc Kielburger backtracks after saying PMO contacted WE about $900M program". thestar.com. 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  28. Merali, Farrah (2020-07-07). "Former WE Charity employee says staff tried to silence her by rewriting anti-racism speech". CBC News.
  29. "Their love is built on helping others". thestar.com. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  30. "Roxanne Joyal Profile". The Rhodes Project. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  31. "Order of Canada celebrates 50 years by welcoming new members". 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  32. "Order of Canada Investiture Ceremony". The Governor General of Canada. 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  33. "Moving From I To We As A Family". HuffPost Canada. 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  34. "Activist brothers to receive honorary doctorates from Nip U". BayToday.ca.
  35. "Honorary Degree Recipients". Nipissing University.
  36. "University of Guelph - Document Center". uoguelph.civicweb.net.
  37. Honorary Degree Recipients - University of Toronto
  38. Honorary Degrees Awarded - Western University
  39. "Honorary Degrees | Wilfrid Laurier University".
  40. "Honorary Degrees Awarded Since 1954 - Senate". carleton.ca.
  41. "Photo: Honorary doctorates for Marc and Craig Kielburger". Langley Advance Times. June 4, 2012.
  42. "Honorary degree citation - Marc Kielburger". www.concordia.ca.
  43. "2014 Recipients - Capilano University". www.capilanou.ca.
  44. "Mr. Craig Kielburger and Mr. Marc Kielburger". ontariotechu.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
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